Dako Enters into an Additional Collaboration with Amgen on Developing a Companion Diagnostic Test (pharmDx™) for an Investigational Cancer Therapy in Clinical Development

Dako, a world leading independent cancer diagnostic supplier with 45 years of experience in pathology, announced today that it has entered into a new collaboration agreement with Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) on the development of a diagnostic test for an Amgen cancer drug candidate in clinical development.

“It is Dako’s mission to fight cancer. Hence, we are pleased to be chosen as Amgen’s partner once again for the development of companion diagnostics linked to Amgen’s investigational targeted therapies,” says Lars Holmkvist, Dako’s chief executive officer.

In January 2012, Dako announced a collaboration agreement with Amgen Inc. introducing a new business model which supports the concurrent development of drug and diagnostics for a rare but deadly cancer – something that up to this point has been difficult to achieve in the industry.

“This new collaboration with Amgen underlines Dako’s commitment to advance personalized medicine in cancer treatment as the selection of patients most likely to benefit from a specific treatment will increase the probability of therapeutic success for cancer patients suffering," Lars Holmkvist adds.

Today’s news comes on the heels of several pharmDx™ collaborative agreements recently announced by Dako.

The demand for personalized medicine is increasing with the recognition that it may provide a way to improve patient care and manage healthcare costs by targeting treatments to individuals more likely to benefit from specific therapies.

About DakoDako, based in Denmark, is a global leader in tissue-based cancer diagnostics. Hospital and research laboratories worldwide use Dako’s know-how, reagents, instruments and software to make accurate diagnoses and determine the most effective treatment for patients suffering from cancer. Employing more than 1,000 people and being present in more than 80 countries, Dako covers essentially all of the anatomic pathology markets globally. Dako is owned by private equity fund EQT V. www.dako.com